Sunday Mail: 28th September 2008

Zen and the art of facial maintenance

It’s costing us £l billion to keep looking young
OUR obsession with looking young means the cosmetic beauty business is beating the slump. Driven by a desire to defy the ageing process, more and more of us are going under the knife and the needle to make ourselves look more beautiful.

The UK market for cosmetic procedures has tripled in five years, creating a £1billion industry. It is no longer the reserve of Hollywood A-listers, with clinics, beauty salons, dental surgeries and even gyms offering treatments from Botox injections to lunch-hour boob jobs.

Fiona Fowley, director of award-winning Zen spa in Edinburgh, said:”There is much more pressure on women these days to look good but there is so much help available, there is no excuse for looking old. “When Botox became available as a beauty treatment six years ago it was hailed as the miracle drug that would take 10 years off in 10 minutes. But campaigners want procedures to be carried out by trained medical professionals.

And as Fiona points out, you can still look your best without going under the knife. She said: “ln the middle of a recession looking good at work has never been more important. “People want to look the part but they don’t want to look plastic.”You can get great results without going under the knife.”

A YouGov survey showed the number of people willing,to consider cosmetic surgery has doubled to nearly half of all women and a quarter of men.

Zen Lifestyle in Edinburgh offers Botox and dermal fillers as well as non-invasive treatments. Fiona said: “All our Botox work is
carried out by a qualified nurse and everyone gets a consultation before we do anything. “l can tell if someone has had a lot of Botox done.” lf it is done naturally by a medical professional you should not be able to spot it, I am not against ii I justthink you have got to offer a wide selection of treatments.”

Fiona, 37, opened Zen in 1999 after spending two years studying a wide range of holistic therapies in south-east Asia and Australasia. A few years back treatments might have amounted to little more than a massage. But Fiona’s two salons in Edinburgh offer evefihing from oxygen facials, glycolic peels, anti-ageing light treatments, deep tissue massage and skin rejuvenation to dermabrasion. Fiona said: “When I started out at 18, it was about relaxation and pampering. Now it is all about combating the ravages of time.”Things like lipo in your lunch hour are going to be massive and qetting cosmetic work done will be as simple as going for a haircut.

“lt is getting to the stage where it is difficult to tell someone’s age when you are standing talking to them. people really want results and they are willing to pay for it. “With so much money being ploughed into the beauty business Fiona reckons there are plenty, of opportunities for careers.

She said: “Things have shot up’in the last three years and it is a very exciting industry to be in. “We’ve even seen a massive increase in the number of menbcoming here, everyone from “plumbers to businessmen.
“The majority are singlemen approaching their 40s who want to look good. Nowadays women in their 30s look as if they are in their 20s so men have to take more care of themselves.
Fiona added: “l love working in this business but you have to be committed because it is not a 9 to 5 job.”